


Back From the Dead I See

by idontknowwhyimawake



Series: The World of Merlin [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: F/F, Gen, Good Morgana (Merlin), M/M, no beta we die like arthur, resurrection AU, the knights are back and Merlin’s in shock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 23:08:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28661496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idontknowwhyimawake/pseuds/idontknowwhyimawake
Summary: Morgana picked Merlin up from his current work place saying she had a Christmas surprise for him.Merlin wasn’t exactly sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this.
Relationships: Gwen/Morgana (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: The World of Merlin [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2033875
Comments: 6
Kudos: 116





	Back From the Dead I See

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this story came to me a while ago and I actually have a lot more ideas to add on to this, so while it will probably take a while for me to write them, I do plan on making this a series

Merlin had been working nonstop at the local animal shelter that was not that far from his apartment. He hadn’t intended to work over the holidays and had originally wanted to stay with Morgana, who had been resurrected a year prior.

At first when he saw her alive and well and wanted to yell and scream at her and call her names that wouldn’t have been very appropriate considering the children that were surrounding them at the time, but then he saw the look of shock and confusion on her face when she saw him. Not an ounce of anger or hate was directed toward him, and because of that he approached her with open arms. The fact that it had also been 1500 years since he last saw probably also had something to do with his kindness. to her, he had had plenty of time to be mad at her.

It was now her first Christmas in the modern world and despite Merlin himself never feeling the need to do the normal traditions, such as hanging stockings and putting up a Christmas tree, he had wanted to make this year special for the both of them. He was no longer alone in the world and he didn’t want to waste any of the years he had left with his old friend before she grew old and he had to watch. 

However, last minute he got a call from his boss at the animal shelter practically begging Merlin to come into work as one of his coworkers had come down with the flu and they were already understaffed since most of their workers were teenagers just wanting to make some extra cash. Morgana had been completely understanding, something Merlin knew wouldn’t have been possible in her previous life, and agreed that next year they could do the stockings and the Christmas tree. If she had seemed slightly more devastated by the fact Merlin wasn’t going to be at their shared apartment for the holiday then he would’ve told his boss that he couldn’t find any time to come in, but Morgana actually seemed kind of excited that she would be alone for a bit.

Merlin didn’t know whether he should be worried, happy that she was finally adjusting to the new world, or disappointed that she no longer constantly needed him around.

“Merlin!” Cassie, his boss, called. “Could you give the cats some food? After that I swear you can go home to your girlfriend!”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Merlin told her, rolling his eyes. Cassie knew that Morgana and Merlin were just two very good friends, but she enjoyed annoying Merlin to no end, so when she found out Morgana existed she quickly decided what she would be using to pick on him next.

“Whatever you say lover boy,” she sang, and walked to the back office so that she could fill out some final work reports before she herself went home.

Merlin walked back to where the cats were and pulled out the cat food. In a matter of seconds cats were surrounding him and he had to be careful so that he wouldn’t trip over any of them.

He stood by the wall as he watched them eat, eyeing the clock carefully. His favorite cat was a fluffy gray cat that he named Kilgharrah. He wasn’t sure why he decided on the name of his old mentor who happened to be a dragon, and he was sure that Cassie thought he had gone insane when he started calling the cat that name in front of her, but with time she also started referring to the cat as Kilgharrah and many of their employees and volunteers even took special liking to the cat, especially after they heard about his odd name

When new people started working at the animal shelter they would always come up to Merlin and question why he chose that name in particular for the cat. Merlin would always tell them some stupid joke about the name, and sometimes even the truth. Nobody ever believed him when he told them the truth though.

The cats finished eating and one by one Merlin picked them up and placed them in their cages, giving each of them something to play with to pass the time before shutting the doors.

He walked out of the cat room to find both Cassie and Morgana talking to each other with a smile on their faces.

“Morgana? What are you doing here?” Merlin questioned.

Morgana turned away from Cassie and gave Merlin a smile, “I was hoping to catch you before you left. We have somewhere we need to be right now.”

Merlin frowned. He and Morgana didn’t have any plans, the ones they did have had been cancelled the minute he got the call to come into work. 

Cassie gave a small snort at Merlin’s confused expression. “Wow Merlin, one would think you would remember that you and your girlfriend made plans together.”

Merlin’s frown deepened, “but—”

“Actually Merlin had no idea about these plans,” Morgana said with glee, seemingly happy that she managed to keep these plans a secret from Merlin for so long. “It’s a surprise.”

Cassie raised her eyebrows, “I didn’t know you two were even capable of not telling each other everything.”

Morgana smirked, “it’s something new I learned.”

Cassie laughed, then motioned for Merlin to leave with Morgana. “You two lovebirds have fun. I can handle everything from here.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to be here late by yourself,” Merlin said.

Cassie rolled her eyes. “Honestly Merlin, if you don’t leave with her right now I’ll just have to fire you so you’ll go.”

Merlin smiled, “in that case I guess we’ll have to get going.”

Morgana grabbed Merlin’s hand and started pulling him towards the door. “Happy Christmas, Cassie!”

Cassie smiled and waved as the two friends walked out the door and to Merlin’s car. “Happy Christmas!”

When they were in the car Merlin noticed that his and Morgana’s bags were both packed into the backseat, along with bags of sodas, cookies, and chips. “Where are we going?”

Morgana smiled, “is it not obvious by the bags in the back? We’re going to the lake house for the weekend!”

The lake house was just what one would expect. A house by the lake. Except this exact lake happened to be the one where 8 of their best friends lay under the calm waves. Merlin took Morgana there when he first discovered she was alive so she could have a familiar setting to readjust to society. Once she was more used to things like the internet, electricity, and running water, he brought her to his apartment where an extra room sat just waiting to be occupied by someone. Merlin never really expected that somebody to be his former enemy.

“That was the surprise? Why didn’t you just tell me so I could pack my own bags?” Merlin asked her, very confused.

Morgana scoffed, “if you are worried that I didn’t do a good job packing your things, don’t worry, I found that list you made for us last time we visited the house. I got everything! I even got things that weren’t on the list, like that stuffed donkey you got at the fair 4 months ago!”

Merlin opened his mouth in shock, “you packed Sprinkles?”

Morgana nodded in confirmation. “I packed Sprinkles.” As Merlin pulled out of the parking lot and started driving to the lake, which was only 30 minutes away, Morgana kept talking. “Going to the lake isn’t even the real surprise. The real thing is actually waiting for us there.”

“What is it? Morgana I swear to the gods if we get there and I find a dragon egg I’m throwing you out.”

Morgana smirked, “you care for me too much to do that. And don’t worry, that’s not the surprise. Aithusa would have a fit if she found out that I was planning to hatch another egg.”

Surprisingly Aithusa was still alive and well, though she was getting old and Merlin suspected she only had a couple hundred years left to live, she was still just as energetic as she had been when she first hatched, and her limp from being kept in the cage with Morgana was gone. Merlin suspected finding Aithusa alive and well had been Morgana’s greatest relief when she came back.

Throughout the rest of the car ride Morgana kept flipping through the stations on the radio, stopping when she got to a song that catches her attention, but continuing her search for music to entertain her the second the song had finished. Merlin suspected that she had recently become obsessed with finding music because so many people on the internet started talking about new songs coming out and she didn’t want to feel left out, but he could never be sure with her. For he knew she could be listening to so much music because she wanted to find a song Merlin hated and then cast a spell that would make it become stuck in his brain for the rest of the month. Knowing her, it was probably the latter.

The clock had just hit 7 when they arrived at the lake house, and Morgana practically flew out of the car, grabbing her bag and taking it with her inside the house.

“Wait, Morgana! You left the food!” Merlin called out to her, but she paid no attention to him and instead focused on unlocking the door and getting inside, out of the cold weather.

Merlin glared at the spot she had been occupying only seconds ago, but turning to the car to get his bags. He knew he could use his magic to get everything at once and not have to make another trip back to the car, but Merlin was a petty little bitch, so decided to grab his bag and a couple bags of the chips, which also happened to be the lightest thing in the car, and walked up the driveway and towards the door.

The lake house was actually fairly big, despite it only being occupied by Merlin and Morgana. It’s exterior reminded him of the homes in the many villages and towns Merlin had once lived, except more modern, so when Merlin found the house by the same lake his friends laid in, he jumped at the chance to buy.

Morgana often made fun of Merlin having such a big house for someone who is supposed to be by no means rich, but hey, working for the past thousand years will get you a lot of money, and Merlin intended to spend that money on something nice, like this house.

“Morgana,” Merlin shouted up the stairs that he assumed Morgana had run up only moments prior. “You coward! You left me out there in the freezing weather with all the food!” No answer. “Come down here so you can get the rest of it! I’m not going back out there again!” Again, she didn’t answer. Merlin walked over a couch that sat facing parallel to a window that overlooked the lake. “Morgana?” A small panicky feeling filled his chest. “Where did you go?”

“I’m in the kitchen!” Morgana’s voice responded, and just like that the panic was gone and pettiness filled his chest once again as he walked to the kitchen to tell Morgana to get the rest of the food that she decided to buy.

“Why did you even get that much food?” Merlin asked as he walked to the kitchen. “I doubt the two of us will be eating that much food in one week! Honestly, it’s as though you’re expecting us to be housing an army for the holidays.”

When he reached the kitchen he was greeted by the sight of an anxious Morgana. She might be trying to cover it up, but he knew her when she was trying to keep her magic hidden from Uther and knew exactly what she looked like when she was nervous. “What is it?”

“It’s time for your surprise,” she said, quietly.

Merlin narrowed his eyes, “and here I was thinking that my surprise was forcing me to bring in all the bags from the car.”

A muffled laugh came from the sunroom attached to the kitchen. Merlin took a step forward. “In the god's name Morgana, if you actually found an army for us to house during Christmas I will kill you, mark my words.”

Morgana gave a nervous chuckle, “I mean, I suppose you could call them an army.”

Merlin closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “Morgana I—”

“Relax Merlin,” she interrupted. “It’s just your surprise.”

That didn’t give Merlin any reassurance whatsoever, but he decide to trust Morgana, even if that was possibly the greatest mistake of his life, and opened the glass doors to the sunroom. At first, he didn’t see anything besides the lake that lay right outside the window. The lake that was surprisingly calm. The lake that—

“Merlin,” a soft, quiet voice, that had long been forgotten, spoke out.

Merlin spun to his left side and took a double take. There was no way this was real. No way in hell.

“Your hair is nearly as good looking as mine now,” a different, teasing voice said, trying to break the tension.

For a second nobody spoke, and there was a small stare off between Merlin and the group, as if one or the other were waiting for one to disappear. 

“Well are we expected to just stand here all day?” Arthur. That voice was Arthur.

Merlin surged forward before he could even register what he was doing and Arthur didn’t even seem to hesitate, something he clearly would’ve done in their earlier years. Merlin was in Arthur’s arms, very clearly in shock.

Arthur was always so confident, he never did like to show anybody that he was afraid or nervous, but in the few seconds that Merlin was in Arthur’s arms he picked up on the small shaking motions Arthur’s body seemed to be doing, betraying the cocky attitude Arthur always tried so hard to upkeep.

“What are we, chopped liver?” Gwaine’s voice complained.

Merlin, very reluctantly, removed himself from Arthur’s arms, and turned to face everybody else. They were all here. Gwaine, Leon, Elyan, Lancelot, Percival, and even Gwen.

“How— how long have you been back?” Merlin asked, his voice slightly cracking.

“Two weeks, I believe,” Lancelot said, looking behind Merlin, presumably Morgana, for confirmation.

“I left some things here last time we visited and didn’t feel like you lecturing me on being responsible, so I came here by myself to get them, and what’s when I found them out by the lake,” Morgana answered what Merlin had been wondering. “I could hardly believe it, and when I remembered that Christmas was coming up, I decided to try and at least get them all used to the idea of brushing their teeth and using a toilet before reintroducing them to you.”

“Yes, the discovery of the invention called ‘The Shower’ was most shocking,” Leon said, nodding his head.

Gwen rolled her eyes at Leon, then turned to her own brother, “Elyan’s become fascinated with, what did you call them Morgana? Videos? Specifically the ones of those cats being scared of cucumbers.”

Elyan shrugged his shoulders, “the way they jump reminds of that time Uther nearly walked in on Gwaine bathing in his chambers.”

Arthur spun around, “you did what?”

Gwaine’s eyes widened, “relax princess, I didn’t get caught. No need to worry over me.”

Merlin watched as the group bantered, still not quite believing his eyes, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked and saw Percival standing there, smiling down at him. “I do believe I heard Merlin saying there was food left behind in this ‘car’”

Gwen jumped up, clearly wanting to see not the food but the car. “I’ll help bring it in!”

Morgana grinned, “well, as it was me who bought, it is only right if I help you carry it.” Gwen blushed, and Morgana grabbed her hand and dragged her to the car. “I want to show you how the inside of it looks!”

“So,” Elyan said, watching as his sister ran off with the person that had once been responsible for his own death. “Do you want to see my favorite cat video?”


End file.
